vinylviola
Well-Known Member
Being forced to choose between the two speakers (space considerations)
these two speakers draw immediate comparison:
Almost identical proportions. The similarity in the enclosure space is the sort of control that a proper science experiment should have
Both speakers are two-way. The woofer in the Advent has an obvious advantage - being 12" instead of the ADS' 10"
The ADS' tweeter is a soft dome, the Advent has a red fried egg tweeter.
Both speakers are A/B-ed through a Marantz 2235B. (Sitting atop to-do project no. 431C plywood box KLH 6.) I had my choice of a Pioneer or Yamaha, but I've always enjoyed how the Advent's highs are smoothed out and feel more palatable through the Marantz.
Here's the playlist:
James Brown - 20 All-Time Greatest Hits "Get on the Good Foot"
Beck - The Information "1000 BPM"
Edgar Meyer - Bach, Suite No. 1 in G major "Gigue"
Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty "Super Disco Breakin'"
Andrew Bird - Weather Systems "Skin"
The Clash - London Calling "Spanish Bombs"
Vince Guaraldi Trio - Charlie Brown Christmas "Skating"
Four Tet - Rounds "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth"
Rudolph Serkin - Beethoven, piano concerto no. 4 "Allegro Moderato"
B.B. King - Greatest Hits "The Thrill is Gone"
As per my last shoot-out, (A-25, EPI 100, AR-4x) it took a couple of songs to get a general sense of each speaker's character; strength and weaknesses.
My initial reaction was to enjoy the ADS' much smoother, more refined mids and highs. The Advent felt more abrasive and even shrill at times during James Brown's squealing.
The mids in the ADS felt fuller, as well. With the Advent, one thing I've always noticed is a hole in the middle range. The bass is punchy, tight and crisp, and the highs are brilliant, leaving other comparable speakers to feel more rounded/proportional from top to bottom. Of course a great deal of ADS' even range is the considerably closer placement of the tweeter to the woofer, as opposed to the Advent, resulting in a much different sonic impression by the ear? (This is the extent of my scientific reasoning.)
Moving from James Brown to Beck (jumping 40 years of recording technology) certainly brought different aspects of the speakers' capabilities. This particular track features a lot of electronic bleeps and boops layered on top of vocals, so transparency, as well as their range would be obvious. Again, ADS was more palatable, but I begin to notice the loss of "sizzle" in many of these recordings.
Edgar Meyer's recording of three of the Bach cello suites is particularly unique because they are done on double bass. Its a particular favorite recording of mine, not only because of Mr. Meyer's incredible musicianship, but instrumental colors and range is so wide.
This was the first place where the Advents really outshone the ADS. The Advents gave me a sense of standing in the studio with the musician, practically feeling the air move and hearing the minute differences in his articulations. This would be true for all of the jazz, classical and acoustic sources I chose to sample.
The ADS, being its more rounded, subdued self ended up feeling more distant from the source, without the sort of 'pop' in the sound.
The sense of articulation with the Advents ended up being a real constant. With any acoustic, live or vocal source the Advents just shone, making you feel as though you were right there. The ADS' began to feel more constrained in their sonic possibilities.
The bass on the Advents, always a calling card, was a remarkable difference from the ADS. Likely owing more to the increased woofer size, but the punchiness and clarity of the Advent's lower range was terrific.
As mentioned earlier, the highs on the Advents were often too much of a good thing, particularly on busier recordings, or whenever Jimmy Page decides to step on the overdrive pedal. The incredible response of the tweeter is certainly the same thing that makes acoustic and live music seem so present, but with a lot of louder, out of control tracks (The Clash, Beastie Boys) my close(ish) range to the speakers made it hard to tolerate. ADS were far more accommodating in this arena.
Deciding also to test the ambient effect of each speaker, I would listen to part of tracks and walk throughout the room, as I am often struck by the capabilities of certain speakers when I hear them from an unusual place in the room (doing dishes, at my desk, etc.)
The ADS actually didn't seem to lose much of its characteristics if I was right in their path of destruction, or 10 feet away and off to the side. Bass didn't increase, but they did feel muddy after a while.
The Advents actually become a much more 'natural' speaker when I'm not right in front of them. The punchy bass evens out (provided I'm not facing into a corner) and outside the dispersion of the tweeters they feel much more natural. If I had the space and the druthers, I would love to hear the Advents more to opposite corners of my room playing a live jazz album.
The verdict:
The ADS', while a fine speaker, (and arguably one of the most indestructible due to rubber woofer surrounds and metal grille) are a little too laid back for my listening tastes. Like my comparison of A-25's and EPI 100's, while the A-25's trumped in their musicality, the EPI was way ahead in its accuracy and discernment. The Advents make everything very clear, while the ADS was more musical, albeit without the Dynaco magic.
There were several different examples of modern-day "layering" engineering on my list (Beck, Four Tet,) where one instrument will be clear, and another will sound as though it's being played out of a shoe box. Finding speakers that can really isolate these effects is really great, and often times catches me by surprise, because I'm not expecting to hear the different instruments pointed out so clearly. The ADS just didn't have the range of coloring or transparency I was expecting, and the Advents were happy to heap on.
Guess I've made my choice. These experiments have been really revealing. There were things about each speaker I wasn't expecting to find, and certainly letting my ears adjust to each speaker took a while before I decided on a preference, but I'm very glad I did this one - aspects of the Advent speaker that I still find harsh from time to time I still found my ear choosing them over a more tempered approach. What sorcery is this?
Anyone else ever been able to do this match up? I know there are a lot of ADS more highly regarded than the L620, but none that seemed quite as an appropriate a match-up against the NLA.
these two speakers draw immediate comparison:
Almost identical proportions. The similarity in the enclosure space is the sort of control that a proper science experiment should have
Both speakers are two-way. The woofer in the Advent has an obvious advantage - being 12" instead of the ADS' 10"
The ADS' tweeter is a soft dome, the Advent has a red fried egg tweeter.
Both speakers are A/B-ed through a Marantz 2235B. (Sitting atop to-do project no. 431C plywood box KLH 6.) I had my choice of a Pioneer or Yamaha, but I've always enjoyed how the Advent's highs are smoothed out and feel more palatable through the Marantz.
Here's the playlist:
James Brown - 20 All-Time Greatest Hits "Get on the Good Foot"
Beck - The Information "1000 BPM"
Edgar Meyer - Bach, Suite No. 1 in G major "Gigue"
Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty "Super Disco Breakin'"
Andrew Bird - Weather Systems "Skin"
The Clash - London Calling "Spanish Bombs"
Vince Guaraldi Trio - Charlie Brown Christmas "Skating"
Four Tet - Rounds "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth"
Rudolph Serkin - Beethoven, piano concerto no. 4 "Allegro Moderato"
B.B. King - Greatest Hits "The Thrill is Gone"
As per my last shoot-out, (A-25, EPI 100, AR-4x) it took a couple of songs to get a general sense of each speaker's character; strength and weaknesses.
My initial reaction was to enjoy the ADS' much smoother, more refined mids and highs. The Advent felt more abrasive and even shrill at times during James Brown's squealing.
The mids in the ADS felt fuller, as well. With the Advent, one thing I've always noticed is a hole in the middle range. The bass is punchy, tight and crisp, and the highs are brilliant, leaving other comparable speakers to feel more rounded/proportional from top to bottom. Of course a great deal of ADS' even range is the considerably closer placement of the tweeter to the woofer, as opposed to the Advent, resulting in a much different sonic impression by the ear? (This is the extent of my scientific reasoning.)
Moving from James Brown to Beck (jumping 40 years of recording technology) certainly brought different aspects of the speakers' capabilities. This particular track features a lot of electronic bleeps and boops layered on top of vocals, so transparency, as well as their range would be obvious. Again, ADS was more palatable, but I begin to notice the loss of "sizzle" in many of these recordings.
Edgar Meyer's recording of three of the Bach cello suites is particularly unique because they are done on double bass. Its a particular favorite recording of mine, not only because of Mr. Meyer's incredible musicianship, but instrumental colors and range is so wide.
This was the first place where the Advents really outshone the ADS. The Advents gave me a sense of standing in the studio with the musician, practically feeling the air move and hearing the minute differences in his articulations. This would be true for all of the jazz, classical and acoustic sources I chose to sample.
The ADS, being its more rounded, subdued self ended up feeling more distant from the source, without the sort of 'pop' in the sound.
The sense of articulation with the Advents ended up being a real constant. With any acoustic, live or vocal source the Advents just shone, making you feel as though you were right there. The ADS' began to feel more constrained in their sonic possibilities.
The bass on the Advents, always a calling card, was a remarkable difference from the ADS. Likely owing more to the increased woofer size, but the punchiness and clarity of the Advent's lower range was terrific.
As mentioned earlier, the highs on the Advents were often too much of a good thing, particularly on busier recordings, or whenever Jimmy Page decides to step on the overdrive pedal. The incredible response of the tweeter is certainly the same thing that makes acoustic and live music seem so present, but with a lot of louder, out of control tracks (The Clash, Beastie Boys) my close(ish) range to the speakers made it hard to tolerate. ADS were far more accommodating in this arena.
Deciding also to test the ambient effect of each speaker, I would listen to part of tracks and walk throughout the room, as I am often struck by the capabilities of certain speakers when I hear them from an unusual place in the room (doing dishes, at my desk, etc.)
The ADS actually didn't seem to lose much of its characteristics if I was right in their path of destruction, or 10 feet away and off to the side. Bass didn't increase, but they did feel muddy after a while.
The Advents actually become a much more 'natural' speaker when I'm not right in front of them. The punchy bass evens out (provided I'm not facing into a corner) and outside the dispersion of the tweeters they feel much more natural. If I had the space and the druthers, I would love to hear the Advents more to opposite corners of my room playing a live jazz album.
The verdict:
The ADS', while a fine speaker, (and arguably one of the most indestructible due to rubber woofer surrounds and metal grille) are a little too laid back for my listening tastes. Like my comparison of A-25's and EPI 100's, while the A-25's trumped in their musicality, the EPI was way ahead in its accuracy and discernment. The Advents make everything very clear, while the ADS was more musical, albeit without the Dynaco magic.
There were several different examples of modern-day "layering" engineering on my list (Beck, Four Tet,) where one instrument will be clear, and another will sound as though it's being played out of a shoe box. Finding speakers that can really isolate these effects is really great, and often times catches me by surprise, because I'm not expecting to hear the different instruments pointed out so clearly. The ADS just didn't have the range of coloring or transparency I was expecting, and the Advents were happy to heap on.
Guess I've made my choice. These experiments have been really revealing. There were things about each speaker I wasn't expecting to find, and certainly letting my ears adjust to each speaker took a while before I decided on a preference, but I'm very glad I did this one - aspects of the Advent speaker that I still find harsh from time to time I still found my ear choosing them over a more tempered approach. What sorcery is this?
Anyone else ever been able to do this match up? I know there are a lot of ADS more highly regarded than the L620, but none that seemed quite as an appropriate a match-up against the NLA.